Brett-Livingstone
Strong belongs to that rare class of celebrity, the international art
star. Speaking the language of our new global culture, Strong has displayed
an unerring ability to capture the attention of the public at large, winning
a fervent, vital market on an enormous scale. Unique to our mass media
age, his level of success is characterized by broad fame and its attendant
myth-making, a lifestyle enjoyed earlier in this century by Picasso, Dali,
and Andy Warhol. Today, towards the height of his career, Brett-Livingstone
Strong has become an ambassadorial spectacle of international goodwill,
a painter, a sculptor and architect of monumental projects.

As an Australian child prodigy from the age of four, Brett routinely sold
out exhibitions early in his life. In 1972, the Fine Arts Museum of New
South Wales held an exhibition of painting and sculpture by Brett-Livingstone
Strong with the work of famed British modernist Sir Henry Moore - Brett
was just 18 years old. Strong became recognized the world over in 1973,
with the high-profile commission to paint the fine art invitation for
Queen Elizabeth's Royal Opening of the Sydney Opera House. Following a
rigorous academic training in architecture, Strong left Australia in 1977
on a celebrated globe-spanning exhibition of his work (sponsored by the
Australian Art Council and Trade Commission). By constantly exploring
innovative ways to combine sculpture with visionary architecture, Brett-Livingstone
Strong had already earned a reputation for monument-building.

His career assured, Strong soon settled in Los Angeles, and quickly acclimated
himself to America's preferred communications medium: television.
When a 116-ton boulder was removed from Malibu's Pacific coast Highway,
an event which dominated both local and national news, the young artist
arranged with the city to purchase the rock for $100 and announced his
intention to carve it into an homage to John Wayne. The story became his
American debut, and Brett used jack-hammers, the California sun, and his
own vigorous charisma to carve an image not just of America's favorite
cowboy, but also of himself as an energetic visionary with very public
ambitions. Concluding with the celebrated sale of the finished piece for
$1.13 million, this fully-televised art event established Brett-Livingstone
Strong's visibility - and market - at the highest level.

Utilizing a classical figurative technique in both sculpture and painting,
Strong's deeply accomplished works are easy to admire. He uses his obvious
gifts like a bulldozer, taking an authoritative aesthetic stance that
certifies his intentions as an artist of serious reckoning. Working largely
with cast bronze, Brett-Livingstone Strong extends the project of antiquity
to celebrate the heroes of his day; in so doing, like that of the ancients,
his becomes a distinctively eternal art. This passion for monumentality
has yielded Brett a ceaseless slate of public commissions unseen since
the overburdened studio of Rodin.

Strong's 1979 portrait bronze of John Lennon serves as the definitive
artistic statement of homage to this spokesperson of their generation.
Following another public multi-million dollar sale, the sculpture toured
the world after Lennon's death, lingered overlong in New York's Central
Park (at Andy Warhol's urging) and finally settled at the Los Angeles
Grammy Awards Headquarters. By the time Strong returned to Australia in
1988 as that country's Official Artist of the Bicentennial, his
contemporary public works were among the most valuable in the world, and
he was the constant guest of governmental and corporate patrons.

It was during this period that Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley unveiled
Brett's ambitious sculptural celebration of their city's sisterhood
with Nagoya, Japan. Building on this success, the artist received a special
commission from Chief justice Warren E. Burger, and in 1987 stood with
President Ronald Reagan to dedicate his Monument for the bicentennial
of the U.S. Constitution. The highly-publicized Independence Hall ceremony
honored the foundation of the country that had allowed this quiet man
of irrepressible energy to realize his dreams and share his art with an
ever-widening audience. His public works have continued to grow in prominence - in
1996 he fashioned 27 tons of bronze and granite into Washington D.C.'s
Monument to the history of the U.S. Presidency.

Brett-Livingstone Strong's private collectors are among the most influential
people in the world, ranging from heads of state to royalty. Portrait
commissions have included Prince Charles, Dr. Armand Hammer and Michael
Jackson; Rupert Murdoch and Elizabeth Taylor have also done business with
the artist. For public patrons, he has worked on monumental sculptures
to commemorate the achievements of NASA (for the Smithsonian Air and Space
Museum), the vision of Walt Disney, the Sydney 2000 Olympics and the 500th
anniversary of Michelangelo's David. Throughout his distinguished career,
the art collecting public has always been involved, ensuring that every
limited edition ever made of Brett-Livingstone Strong prints has long
ago sold out, and that his original paintings have become prized rarities
selling for ever-higher record prices.

Strong's latest epic undertaking incorporates his architecture and monuments. Strong first conceived his Statue of Freedom project, including cathedral inspired structures surrounded by a tranquil park. The project has developed into two distinct monumental works, the Statue of Freedom and Pacific Crystal Tower. Created as a tribute to mankind's pursuit of freedom and inspired by Strong's interest of merging views of nature within his art and architecture, these projects are the legendary focus of his universal creative force. Privately financed to date, the scope of these projects has quickly grown to include the artist's ideas for a broad range of cultural and entertainment attractions. As supporters glimpse the dramatic landmark, the project continues to transform in magnitude. This truly is the greatness of monumental architecture, to transcend its creation and become, like the artist's work, an awe inspiring experience.